1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a poker game suitable for use in casinos and other gaming establishments, as well as wagering or non-wagering space including websites and applications, as a video poker game. The invention further relates to casino gaming wherein a five card draw poker game is played upon an apparatus including a processor, input device and monitor and wherein predetermined deal card combinations may disqualify the player's hand from further play.
2. Background of the Art
The traditional casino table game of poker is played by pitting player against player. Most popular poker table games in brick-and-mortar and virtual casinos worldwide (Texas Hold 'Em, for instance) provide players with the option to, among other choices, fold after each deal. To fold is to discard one's hand, effectively losing the hand and any wagers made up to that point.
Some newer poker table games are played by pitting each player against a dealer (i.e., the “house”). In particular, the following prior art refers to certain hands being automatically disqualified, as opposed to being voluntarily folded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 (Suttle, et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,774 (Webb) each disclose a poker game that requires the disqualification of the dealer if the dealer's hand does not equal or exceed a predetermined minimum ranking.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,661,678 (Snow) teaches a poker game that requires the disqualification of the dealer if the dealer's hand equals or exceeds a predetermined maximum ranking.
The patents referred to above provide dealer disqualification that is an integral part of the basic gameplay and the mathematical analysis supporting each game. The disqualifications are necessary to insure that the game will have a solid house advantage; however, players feel frustration if they were dealt a lucrative or promising hand that they then cannot play out for potential large awards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,473 (Chou, et al.) provides a card game in which each player is dealt five cards. After determining points perceived on his hand, each player must show three cards from his hand which add up to either ten, twenty, or thirty to continue playing the game. If a player cannot successfully do that, he is disqualified and must leave the game and wait for the next round. There is no upside to the player disqualification; that is, the player is not rewarded with additional player-friendly features (i.e., features that increase the expected value of the player's hand) that may offset the negativity of disqualification.
The advent of video technology has allowed poker games to be played not against other players but against a paytable that determines wins and losses. These games are described as “video poker”.
Typically, video poker is played with a hand of five card draw poker that is dealt from a standard deck of 52 cards. The player chooses to hold none, some or all of the dealt cards. Any non-held cards are discarded, and replacement cards from the remaining deck of 47 cards are provided. The final hand is evaluated for any winning combinations, and paid according to a predetermined paytable.
Various video poker variations have been invented that have added additional excitement, anticipation and volatility, thereby increasing player participation. This is important to any gaming establishment. Since in virtually every gambling game there is a house advantage (that is, the player will play the game at less than a 100% payout), it is advantageous for the casino to draw in players to the machine and keep them playing.
Various prior art provide a multiplier bonus feature that preferably requires an extra wager in addition to the base wager. Many players, however, are reluctant to make an additional wager, since the additional wager can be as high as the base wager, with the payouts based on only the base wager. When making an extra wager, it is common for a player to receive an initial hand of Jacks or Better (paying 1 for 1) or Two Pair (paying 1 for 1), and still not get back the total wager.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,152,616 (Moody) teaches a payline multiplier that, for each activated payline, is randomly selected from a group of various multipliers and the selected multiplier is assigned to the activated payline. U.S. Pat. No. 7,247,092 (Jarvis et al.) discloses the use of one or more multiplier cards added to a conventional deck of playing cards. Whenever a multiplier card appears during the play of a video poker game, the payout for any winning combination that is achieved is multiplied by the value of the multiplier card. U.S. Pat. No. 8,550,892 (Moody) discusses a casino game wherein if the first initial hand comprises a predetermined arrangement of cards, a multiplier is randomly selected from a group of various multipliers for each activated payline. United States Patent Application No. 20100081498 (Moody) discusses a casino game wherein if the player achieves a winning outcome on the first round of play, the payouts for the next round of play of the casino game will be increased, based on the category of the winning outcome on the first round of play. The aforementioned multiplier patents disclose playing out all activated hands (whether or not the initial hand is a strong or potentially strong hand), and may include receiving a multiplier on a weak initial hand (thereby increasing the chances of multiplying a losing hand, and receiving no pay) or not receiving a multiplier on a promising hand (4-to-a-Flush, for instance). It is especially discouraging to a player when he finally achieves activation of a multiplier, only to be dealt a poor hand that has a small likelihood of converting into a winning hand. In addition, an extra wager is required to activate the multiplier feature; otherwise, the paytable would have to be adjusted lower in order to accommodate the increased payouts that would come from the multiplier feature.
Various other prior art provide other particular bonus features.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,608 (Moody) describes a wagering game wherein whenever the player achieves one of the predetermined types of starting hand combinations on the original round of play of the hand of video poker, then the player is awarded one or more additional hands of video poker on the next round of play. An extra wager is required to activate the bonus feature; otherwise, the paytable would have to be adjusted lower in order to accommodate the increased payouts that would come from the extra hands feature.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,129 (Cooper, et al.) describes a video poker game in which the player is offered the opportunity to replay the initial five-card hand. The player must make a separate wager each time the player wishes to replay the initial five-card hand.
Each of the references discussed in this text art are incorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.
It is an ever-increasing challenge to provide players with new and enticing gameplay features that will stimulate player interest and increase time at the machine. It would be advantageous to provide a video poker game that provides bonus features at no extra wagers, with no lower adjustment to the basic paytable, and with the bonus features being offered primarily on more promising or payable initial hands.